So Who Are Ahl ul-Hadith?

Author: Shaikh Rabee' bin Haadee al-Madkhalee

Source: Makaanat Ahl ul-Hadith (trans. by Bilal Davies,
forthcoming SP release)

They are those who proceed upon the way of the

Companions and those who followed them in
righteousness, in clinging to the Book and the Sunnah,
biting onto that with their molar teeth, and letting them
(i.e., the Qur'aan and the Sunnah) take precedence over any
statement or code and conduct - whether in belief, or acts
of worship such as dealings and transactions, mannerisms,
politics or social life.
They are those who are firm in regards to the fundamentals
of the religion and its subsections, upon that which Allaah
sent down and revealed upon his servant and Messenger
Muhammad (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam). They are those
establishing the call to that with all effort, sincerity and
firm will. They are those carrying the knowledge of the
Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam), expelling from it the
distortions of those who have exaggerated (in its regard)
and the undue claims of the people of falsehood and the
interpretations of the ignorant ones.
They are those who are observant and lie in wait for every
group that has deviated from the way of Islaam, like the
Jahmees and the Mu'tazilees and the Khawaarij and the
Rawaafidh and the Murji'ah and the Qadriyyah and all of
those who have deviated from the way of Allaah and have
followed their desires in every time and place - they not
affected by the reproach of the blamers, in the cause of
Allaah
They are the group that the Messenger of Allaah has
praised and commended in his saying, "There will not
cease to be a group from my Ummah manifest and upon
the truth not being harmed by those who forsake them
neither by those who oppose them until the hour is
established." [1]

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They are the Saved Sect firm upon that which the
Messenger and his Companions were upon, those who
have been distinguished and defined by the Messenger of
Allaah when he mentioned that this Ummah shall divide
into seventy three sects all going to the Hell-fire except
one and it was said, "Who are they, O Messenger of
Allaah?" He said, "They are those who are upon that which
I and my Comapnions are upon."
And this is not something we say in exageration or a mere
claim, but verily we speak a reality that the text of the
Qur'aan and the Sunnah bears witness to, which history
bears witness to, and to which their (i.e., the Ahlul-
Hadeeth's) statements, their state of affairs, their writings
and works also bear witness to. They are those who put
before their eyes the statement of Allaah:
And hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of Allaah. [2]
And His statement:
And let those who oppose the Messengers commandment
beware lest some fitnah befall them or a painful torment be
inflicted on them. [3]
They are the most staunch in distancing themselves from
opposing the command of the Messenger and the most
distant from fitnah. They are those who make their
constitution:
But no, by your Lord! They can have no faith, until they
make you (O Muhammad (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam))
judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves
no resistance against your decisions, and accept them with
full submission. [4]
They are those who give to the Qur'aan and the Sunnah
their true worth and give it the honour and veneration it
deserves, giving priority to them over all the statements of
mankind, and give precedence to their guidance over the
guidance of all the people, and they judge by them in all
affairs with complete pleasure, with chests which are
expanded and free of restraint or constriction, and they
submit to Allaah and His Messenger (with) a complete
submission in their 'aqeedah and their worship and their
dealings. They are those concerning whom the statement of
Allaah holds true:
The only saying of the faithful believers when they are
called to Allaah and His Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi
wasallam) to judge between them, is that they say, "We
hear and we obey," and such are the prosperous ones.[5]
They after all of the Comapanions - and at the head of
them the rightly guided Caliphs - are the leaders of the
taabi'een and at the head of them: Sa'eed ibn al-Musayyib
(d. 90H), 'Urwah ibn Zubair (d. 94H), 'Alee ibn al-Hussain

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Zain al-'Aabideen (d. 93H), Muhammad ibn Hanafiya (d.

80H), 'Ubaydullaah ibn 'Abdillaah ibn 'Utbah ibn Mas'ood
(d. 94H or later), Saleem ibn 'Abdillaah ibn 'Umar (d.
106H), Qaasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abee Bakr as-Sadeeq
(d. 106H), al-Hasan al-Basree (d. 110H), Muhammad ibn
Sireen (d. 110H), 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-'Azeez (d. 101H) and
Muhammad ibn Shihaab az-Zuhree (d. 125H).
Then the Atbaa'at-Taabi'een and at the head of them:
Imaam Maalik (d. 179H), al-Awzaa'ee (d. 157H), Sufiyaan
ibn Sa'eed ath-Thawree (d. 161H), Sufyaan ibn Uyayna (d.
198H), Ismaa'eel ibn Ubya??? (d. 193H), Layth ibn Sa'd
(d. 175H) and Aboo Haneefah an-Nu'maan (d. 150H).
Then those who followed them and at the head of them:
'Abdullaah ibn al-Mubaarak (d. 181H), Wakee' ibn al-
Jarraah (d. 197H), the Imaam Muhammad ibn Idrees ash-
Shaafi'ee (d. 204H), 'Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Mahdee (d.
198H), Yahya ibn Sa'eed al-Qataan (d. 198H) and Afaan
ibn Muslim (d. 219H).
Then their students who followed them in this
methodology, and at the head of them: the Imaam Ahmad
ibn Hanbal (d. 241H), Yahya ibn Ma'een (d. 233H) and
'Alee ibn al-Madeenee (d. 234H).
Then their students like al-Bukhaaree (d. 256H), Muslim
(d. 261H), Abee Haatim (d. 277H), Abee Zara' (Aboo
Zur'ah?) (d. 264H), Aboo Daawood (d. 275H), at-
Tirmidhee (d. 279H) and an-Nasaa'ee (d. 303H).
Then those who proceeded in their way in the generations
that preceded them, like Ibn Jareer (at-Tabaree?) (d.
310H), Ibn Khuzaymah (d. 311H), ad-Daaraqutnee (d.
385H) in his time, al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadee (d. 463H)
and Ibn 'Abdul-Barr an-Niwaaree (d. 463H).
And 'Abdul-Ghanee al-Maqdasee (d. 620H), Ibn Salaah (d.
643H), Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728H), al-Mizzee (d. 743H),
adh-Dhahabee (d. 748H), Ibn Katheer (d. 774H) and their
contemporaries who lived in their time and those who
came after them, and followed their footsteps in holding on
to the Book and the Sunnah up until the present day.
These are who I mean by Ahlul-Hadeeth.

NOTES
[1] Hadeeth saheeh, collected by Muslim (3/1523), Ahmad
(5/278-279), Aboo Dawood (3/4), Tirmidhee (4/420), Ibn
Maajah (1/4-5), Haakim (4/449-450), at-Tabaraanee in
Mu'jam al-Kabeer (7643) and Aboo Daawood at-Tayaalisi
(p. 94, no. 689). Authenticated by al-Albaanee in As-
Saheehah (270-1955).

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